The West African Examination Council (WAEC) says all arrangements for the smooth conduct of this year's West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have been followed.

Mrs Wendy E. Addy-Lamptey, Head of National Office, WAEC has appealed to supervisors and invigilators to be guided by the rules of examination and to be vigilant in carrying out their duties as expected.

According her, security arrangements were beefed up to ensure the success of the examination.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on the update on the conduct of 2021 WASSCE for School Candidates, Mrs Addy-Lamptey said the council had received tip-offs from some concerned citizens about some teachers, who have hatched plans to collect monies to enable candidates to cheat during the examinations.

The Head of National Office WAEC said, "The Council has cautioned the schools in question and would follow up with the necessary actions."

She said teachers, who in the past misconducted themselves during examinations, were removed from the council's list of supervisors or invigilators.

Mrs Addy-Lamptey said curbing examination malpractices was a collective responsibility and urged stakeholders to support the council to nib the canker in the bud.

She further entreated candidates to comply with all rules and regulations, saying they could write examinations and pass without cheating.

"Let me advise all candidates to comply with the rules and regulations of the examination and the COVID-19 protocols, avoid any form of malpractices which could lead to the cancellation of their results and being barred from taking examinations conducted by WAEC," Mrs Addy-Lamptey stressed.

She recounted the operations of rogue websites and WhatsApp groups created purposely for cheating have started.

According to her "Smart WASSCE Hub" was one of the many WhatsApp groups, which was asking candidates to join for assistance during the examination.

"We wish to caution all candidates to be wary of the activities of such websites such as this which deceive them and turn their attention from books.

We advise all candidates who have joined such platforms to exist them immediately and concentrate on their studies."

Mrs Addy-Lamptey said security operatives are on the alert and have assured the council that they were working to bring these perpetrators to book.

This year's WASSCE for School candidates is being administered to 446,321 candidates from 965 schools.

The schools are made up of 651 public schools and 314 privates schools across the country.

The candidates are made up of 221,437 males and 234,884 females, representing an increase of 18.7 per cent over the 2020 figure of 375,676 candidates.

This year's WASSCE commenced in 763 centres with some candidates starting with the Visual Art Project Work.

The examination would officially end on Friday, October 8, 2021.